Any Mets fan will tell you not to count the hated Yankees out even when their backs are against the wall - particularly when that’s the case. However, the Mets nation stands back and watches Kenny Rogers pitch the game he pitched last night and there is an amount of guilty pleasure derived from witnessing the mighty Yankees being humbled.
The Yankees are a great team, there’s just no mistaking it and every baseball fan has to give them their due and acknowledge the wealth of future hall of famers on the team. As a Mets fan, I respect the Yankees.
Hell, I was a Yankee fan for a long time and there are still a couple of guys on that team from those days (a tip of the hat to Bernie who followed Roberto - don’t call me Bobby - Kelly). Mariano came up when I was still a Yankee fan and Jeter did too that last year. There’s also no question for me that New Yorkers are privileged in watching Jeter play - he really is one of the greats.
But... and this is a big one.
The Yankees lost their compass at some point. See what separated those teams of the late 90’s from today’s group is that the team was greater than the sum of it’s parts. Yeah, they had some great players but, it was the way the players performed as a team that made all the difference in the world. Since the Yankees faced the Mets in 2000, it has seemed as if the team’s direction has been more about going out and getting the biggest free agent on the market during each off season rather than building a team.
Let’s throw some names out and see if Yankee fans aren’t nodding in agreement: Chad Curtis, Scott Brosius, Tino Martinez, Ramiro Medoza, Paul O’Neill, Joe Girardi, Luis Sojo, Jim Leyritz, Tim Raines, Chili Davis, Mike Stanton - all players who were part of those Yankee teams of the late 90’s that was so successful.
Since 2001 the Yankees have signed the following players as free agents: Mike Mussina, Jason Giambi, Steve Karsay, Chris Hammond, Felix Heredia, Gary Sheffield, Carl Pavano, Tony Womack, Jared Wright, Kyle Farnsworth and if you talk about the trades like the ones they made for Randy Johnson, Alex Rodriguez and others sending away El Duque, Alfonso Soriano just to name a few should make any Yankee fan sick.
Today the entire Yankee season rest on the arm of Jared Wright and if I was a Yankee fan I would be worried. To add to the irony of the game, the pitcher the Yankees will be facing plays for Detroit because of the Yankees! Check this out:
July 5, 2002
As part of a 3-team trade, traded Ted Lilly, John-Ford Griffin, and Jason Arnold (minors) to the Oakland Athletics. Received Jeff Weaver from the Detroit Tigers. In addition, the Oakland Athletics sent a player to be named later, Carlos Pena, and Franklyn German to the Detroit Tigers and the Detroit Tigers sent cash to the Oakland Athletics. The Oakland Athletics sent Jeremy Bonderman (August 22, 2002) to the Detroit Tigers to complete the trade.
Yes, today‘s starting pitcher Jeremy Bonderman was part of the trade the Yankees made to get Jeff Weaver a guy they just had to have! Jeff Weaver turned into Kevin Brown - whereupon Weaver went on to win 27 games over the next two seasons for the Dodgers. Brown, well I think Yankee fans remember Brown more for his back than for his pitching.
Let’s just say this though - if the Yankees lose today it should be one of the most interesting off-seasons for the Yankees in a long time. Hopefully, they’ll stop going out and buying the biggest ticket free-agent and go back to building a team like they did before.
Wait, what am I saying?!?! Let ’em keep doing what they’re doing, why spoil the fun.
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